Composing an animation scene in a computer-generated animation

ABSTRACT

A method of composing an animation scene in a computer-generated animation is provided. The method includes receiving a user input requesting to perform an operation on at least one computer-generated asset in the animation scene. The method also includes determining, based on the user input, a type of operation and at least one attribute associated with the at least one computer-generated asset in the animation scene. The method further includes, in accordance with the determination of the type of operation and the at least one attribute, processing representations of one or more instances of the at least one computer-generated asset; and projecting the processed representations of the one or more instances of the at least one computer-generated asset onto the animation scene to perform the operation. The method further includes generating metadata associated with the manipulated representations of the one or more instances of the at least one computer-generated asset.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application Ser. No.62/374,647, entitled “SPRINKLES”, filed Aug. 12, 2016, the content ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

This application relates generally to computer-generated animation and,more specifically, to composing a scene in a computer-generatedanimation.

2. Description of the Related Art

Computer animation is the process of generating scenes using computergraphics. FIG. 1 depicts an example of a computer-generated animationscene. A computer-generated animation scene may include a virtualenvironment including various objects (e.g., trees, leaves, rocks,clouds, sky, etc.) and characters (e.g., animals, people, etc.). Modelsof objects and characters, for example, may be created and then moved ordeformed to simulate motion. Computer graphics of the computer-generatedanimation scene are rendered at selected times or frames to createcomputer-generated animation, such as an animation film.

Current techniques for composing a computer-generated animation scenerequire intensive operator efforts to manually create each object andcharacter in a scene. Further, editing of the objects and characters mayonly be performed when the objects and characters are still live, e.g.,before they are baked in place. An object or character is baked in placeif it is constrained such that its position is fixed in an animationscene. Otherwise, the object or character is live. Therefore, thecurrent techniques for composing an animation scene are inflexible,cumbersome and inconvenient. Existing techniques also do not provide theability to efficiently generate objects and characters, or flexiblyperform operations on the generated objects and characters.

SUMMARY

The following describes techniques for composing an animation scene in acomputer-generated animation.

In some embodiments, a computer-generated animation scene in acomputer-generated animation is composed by receiving user input. Theuser input requests to perform an operation on at least onecomputer-generated asset in the animation scene. Based on the userinput, the type of operation and at least one attribute associated withthe at least one computer-generated asset in the animation scene aredetermined. In accordance with the determination of the type ofoperation and the at least one attribute, representations of one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset are processed.The processed representations of the one or more instances of the atleast one computer-generated asset are then projected onto the animationscene to perform the operation. Metadata associated with the manipulatedrepresentations of the one or more instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset is generated. In some embodiments, the metadatacan enable re-projecting of the manipulated representations of the oneor more instances of the at least one computer-generated assetirrespective of the one or more instances being constrained in place.

In some embodiments, a system for composing an animation scene in acomputer-generated animation is provided. The system includes means forreceiving a user input requesting to perform an operation of at leastone computer-generated asset in the animation scene. The system furtherincludes means for determining, based on the user input, the type ofoperation and at least one attribute associated with the at least onecomputer-generated asset in the animation scene. The system furtherincludes, in accordance with the determination of the type of operationand at least one attribute: means for processing representations of oneor more instances of the at least one computer-generated asset; andprojecting the processed representations of the one or more instances ofthe at least one computer-generated asset onto the animation scene toperform the operation. The system further include means for generatingmetadata associated with the representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset. The metadataenables re-projecting of the processed representations of the one ormore instances of the at least one computer-generated asset irrespectiveof the one or more instances being constrained in place.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed incolor. Copies of this patent or patent application publication withcolor drawings will be provided by the Office upon request and paymentof the necessary fee.

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary user interface for composing acomputer-generated animation scene in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary user interface for receiving user inputrequesting to perform an operation of one or more computer-generatedassets in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3A depicts an exemplary user interface illustrating a paint-strokebased operation for generating instances of a computer-generated assetof an animation scene in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 3B-3E depict an exemplary user interfaces illustrating the resultsof paint-stroke based operations for generating instances with differentopaqueness, density and/or scaling in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary user interface illustrating a paint-strokebased operation for erasing instances of a computer-generated asset ofan animation scene in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary user interface illustrating a paint-strokebased operation for scaling instances of a computer-generated asset ofan animation scene in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary user interface illustrating a paint-strokebased operation for color-blending instances of a computer-generatedasset of an animation scene in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary user interface illustrating analgorithm-based operation for modifying instances of acomputer-generated asset of an animation scene in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 8A depicts an exemplary user interface illustrating analgorithm-based operation for culling instances of a computer-generatedasset of an animation scene in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 8B-8D depict an exemplary user interface illustrating analgorithm-based operation for relaxing instances of a computer-generatedasset of an animation scene in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary user interface illustrating adirect-manipulating operation for directly manipulating existinginstances of a computer-generated asset of an animation scene inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary user interface for receiving user inputrequesting for partitioning a plurality of instances of acomputer-generated asset of an animation scene in accordance with someembodiments.

FIGS. 11A-11E depict exemplary user interfaces illustrating variouspartitioning operations of instances of a computer-generated asset inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 12A-12B depict an exemplary user interface illustrating are-projecting operation for instances of a computer-generated asset ofan animation scene in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 13A-13B depict exemplary polygon models of computer-generatedassets in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 14 depicts a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process forcomposing an animation scene in a computer-generated animation inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 15 depicts an exemplary computing system in accordance with someembodiments.

The embodiments depicted in the figures are only exemplary. One skilledin the art will readily recognize from the following discussion thatalternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated hereincan be employed without departing from the principles described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description sets forth specific configurations,parameters, and the like. It should be recognized, however, that such adescription is not intended to limit the present disclosure but isinstead provided as a description of exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary user interface 100 for composing acomputer-generated animation scene 110 in accordance with someembodiments. The animation scene 110 is a computer-generated scene thatcan include instances of one or more computer-generated assets (e.g.,objects 102 and 104) and a background 106. A computer-generated assetcan include a polygon, a shape, or computer graphics that representsanimated objects (e.g., trees, leafs, rocks, clouds, sky, etc.) orcharacters (e.g., animals, people, etc.). Assets may also be referred toherein as “toppings”; and instances or representations of instances(e.g., data points) may also be referred to herein as “sprinkles”. Asshown in FIG. 1, animation scene 110 includes multiple instances ofobjects 102 and 104. For example, object 102 can be an animated rock;and object 104 can be one or more animated plants. It should berecognized, however, that in some embodiments, animation scene 110 caninclude, at least in part, instances of other types of assets (e.g.,objects or characters).

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary user interface 200 for receiving user inputrequesting to perform an operation of one or more computer-generatedassets in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 3A depicts an exemplaryuser interface 300 illustrating a paint-stroke based operation forgenerating instances of a computer-generated asset in accordance withsome embodiments. With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3A, a user interface(e.g., user interface 200 and 300) can include one or more affordancesfor composing a computer-generated animation scene. In some embodiments,the user inputs requesting to perform an operation of at least onecomputer-generated asset can be received via one or more affordances. Insome embodiments, the user inputs requesting to perform an operation canbe received via a cursor. For example, a request to perform an operationcan be provided with respect to a computer-generated animation sceneusing a cursor. As illustrated in FIG. 2, user interface 200 can provideaffordances such as buttons 202 and 204; checkboxes 206, 208, 210, and212; and a text field 214. As used here, the term “affordance” refers toa user-interactive graphical user interface object that may be displayedon the display screen of an animation program (e.g., system 1500 of FIG.15). For example, an image (e.g., icon), a button, and text (e.g., link)may each constitute an affordance. As another example, as illustrated inFIG. 3A, user inputs (e.g., paint strokes) can be received using cursor306. The user interfaces can be provided by an animation program, suchas computing system 1500 as described in more details below.

Referring back to FIG. 2, a computer animation program operating on acomputer system (referred to herein as “animation program”) can receiveone or more user inputs for requesting an operation of one or morecomputer-generated assets via user interface 200. For example, theanimation program may receive, via user interface 200, a user'sselection of checkboxes 206 and 212 to enable an operation of a firstasset (e.g., plant—swoopy fern) and a second asset (e.g., plant—desertjade). It should be recognized, however, that in some embodiments, userinterface 200 can include, at least in part, other affordances to enableor disable operations of other assets (e.g., rocks, trees, lakes,rivers, clouds, and characters). In some embodiments, user interface 200can be displayed in a pop-up window or a sub-interface (e.g., adrop-down menu) of another user interface (e.g., user interface 300).For example, the animation program may display user interface 200 afterreceiving a user input selecting an icon for operating in paint-strokemode on user interface 300.

With reference to FIG. 3A, an animation program can also receive one ormore user inputs for requesting an operation of one or morecomputer-generated assets via user interface 300. For example, using oneor more affordances (e.g., icons, check boxes, text fields, etc.)displayed on user interface 300, the user can request a paint-strokebased operation of a computer-generated asset. In some examples, theuser input requesting to perform an operation can be received byanimation scene 310. For example, the animation program can receive oneor more paint strokes on animation scene 310 via sphere cursor 306.

Based on the one or more user inputs, the animation program candetermine the type of operation and at least one attribute associatedwith at least one computer-generated asset in an animation scene. Withreference to FIG. 3A, for example, based on the user's selection ofpaint-stroke mode on user interface 300, the animation program candetermine that the type of operation to be performed is paint-strokebased operation. In addition to the paint-stroke based operation, thetype of operation can include, for example, one or more of analgorithm-based operation, a direct manipulating operation, an animationoperation, and a partition operation. A paint-stroke based operation, analgorithm-based operation, an animation operation, and a partitionoperation can be performed by manipulating underlying representations(e.g., data points stored in a data structure) of instances andprojecting the representations to visualize the instances in acomputer-generated animation scene, while a direct manipulatingoperation can be performed directly on geometries of the instancesvisualized in the animation scene. Each of these types of operations canbe performed by the animation program with respect to instances of oneor more assets and is described in more detail below.

With reference to FIG. 2, based on the user inputs on user interface200, the animation program can further determine the computer-generatedassets to be used for the requested operation. For example, as shown inFIG. 2, the animation program can determine that two computer-generatedassets are to be used for the requested paint-stroke based operation,i.e., the swoopy fern asset and the desert jade asset.

With reference to FIG. 3A, based on the user inputs, the animationprogram can further determine one or more attributes associated with atleast one computer-generated asset. For example, based on the user inputusing a drop-down menu of user interface 300, the animation program candetermine that the computer-generated assets (e.g., swoopy fern plantand desert jade plant) to be used in the requested paint-strokeoperation is to have an attribute of being opaque, having a density of10 and scaling factor of 1, or the like. In some embodiments, attributesassociated with a computer-generated asset can include one or more ofposition, radius, color, density, opacity, strength, texture, ramp, andlinearity associated with the computer-generated asset in the animationscene, a type of partition, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 3A, a paint-stroke based operation can be an operationbased on one or more paint strokes provided by a user. A paint-strokebased operation can be associated with a radius and optionally a curveextending across at least part of the animation scene. For example, theradius of a paint-stroke based operation can be indicated by a spherecursor 306 and the curve extending across at least part of animationscene 310 can be indicated by a curve 308 representing the user'smovement of the sphere cursor 306. In some embodiments, the user canpress and hold sphere cursor 306, and move it along curve 308 toindicate the desired scope of the paint-stroke operation.

In some embodiments, in accordance with the determination of the type ofoperation (e.g., a paint-stroke based operation) and at least oneattribute (e.g., the opaqueness, density, radius, and curve) of at leastone computer-generated asset, the animation program can processrepresentations of one or more instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset and project the processed representations ofthe one or more instances of the at least one computer-generated assetonto the animation scene to perform the operation. With reference toFIGS. 2 and 3A-3E, as described above, the user may request to perform apaint-stroke based operation to generate, for example, instances ofswoopy fern and desert jade assets on animation scene 310. The animationprogram determines attributes associated with the swoopy fern and desertjade asset. For example, the animation program may determine that thetype of operation is a paint-stroke based operation, that the instancesof the swoopy fern and desert jade assets are to be opaque and that theassets have a density of 10, scale of 1, and a radius and curve asindicated by sphere cursor 306 and curve 308, respectively.

In some embodiments, the animation program can further determinevariations of one or more attributes that are to-be-applied to theinstances of the computer-generated assets when performing apaint-stroke based operation. FIGS. 3B-3E depict an exemplary userinterfaces illustrating the results of paint-stroke based operations forgenerating instances with different opaqueness variations, densityand/or scaling in accordance with some embodiments. As shown in FIGS.3B-3E one or more affordances 312, 314, 316, 318, and 319 (e.g.,drop-menu, text field) can be used to receive user inputs regarding theopaqueness, density, and scaling of the instances, respectively. In someexamples, based on received user inputs and/or one or morepre-determined algorithms, the animation program can determine that thepaint-stroke fall-off, the opaqueness, the density, and/or the scalingof the instances are to be applied. Some of these attributes may varyaccording to different positions of the sphere cursor 306 (e.g., moredense or opaque within or at the center of sphere cursor 306 thanoutside or near the edge of sphere cursor 306). The variations ofattributes of the instances (e.g., paint-stroke fall-off) can be linear,non-linear, or customized with a ramp.

As an example shown in FIG. 3B, based on the user inputs, the animationprogram can determine that the instances have an opaque paint-strokefall-off, a density of 1, and no scaling. Thus, instances 310 may appearto have no variation regardless of their positions at the animationscene; may have a constant density; and may have no scaling. As anotherexample shown in FIG. 3C, based on the user inputs, the animationprogram can determine that an opaque paint-stroke fall-off, a scaling of0.5, and a paint-stroke opacity of 1 are to be applied to the instances.Thus, instances 322A and 322B, which are positioned near or outside ofthe edge of sphere cursor 306 may appear to be larger than instances 320positioned within sphere cursor 306. As another example shown in FIG.3D, based on the user inputs, the animation program can determine that alinear paint-stroke fall-off and a scaling of 0.5 are to be applied, andthe paint-stroke opacity is 1. Thus, similar to FIG. 3C, instances 326Aand 326B, which are positioned near or outside of the edge of spherecursor 306, may appear to be larger than those instances 324 positionedwithin sphere cursor 306. Moreover, in FIG. 3D, because of the linearpaint-stroke fall-off, the transition of attributes (e.g., the scaling)from instances 324 to instances 326A/326B may be linear or more smooththan the transition illustrated in FIG. 3C. As another example shown inFIG. 3E, based on user inputs using affordances 312, 318, and 319, theanimation program can determine that a custom paint-stroke fall-off witha specified color scheme (e.g., red near the edge of sphere cursor 306with white near the center) are to be applied, and the paint-strokeopacity is 1. Thus, instances generated by sphere cursor 306 may appearto be red near the edge of sphere cursor 306 and white near the center.It is appreciated that based on user inputs, the animation program cangenerate instances with any custom paint-stroke fall-off and any otherattributes (e.g., scale, opacity, color).

According to the determination, the animation program processesrepresentations of one or more instances (e.g., instances 304) of thecomputer-generated assets. In some embodiments, the processing caninclude selecting one or more computer-generated assets for eachinstance based on the user input and generating representations for theinstances. For example, the animation program can select a percentage ofswoopy fern and a percentage of desert jade plants for generatinginstances 304 (e.g., 50% swoopy fern and 50% desert jade, or any desiredpercentages), and generate representations of instances 304. Therepresentations of instances 304 can include, for example, data pointsstored in a data structure (e.g., table, stack, queue, etc.). The datapoints can represent the instances and can indicate their attributes(e.g., type of asset, density, color, opaqueness, size, position, etc.).In one example as shown in FIG. 3A, based on the user's movement ofsphere cursor 306 along curve 308, the animation program can generate aplurality of representations of instances 304 (e.g., instances of swoopyfern and desert jade assets) within or in the vicinity of the radiusindicated by sphere cursor 306 and along the area indicated by curve308.

With reference to FIG. 3A, the animation program can project thegenerated representations (e.g., data points) of instances 304 onto acomputer-generated animation scene. For example, as shown in FIG. 3A,based on the generated data points of instances 304, the animationprogram can display instances 304 within the radius indicated by spherecursor 306 along the curve indicated by curve 308 in the animation scene310. Moreover, in some embodiments, after the representations of theinstances are generated and projected onto animation scene 310, theanimation program can further generate and store metadata for theseinstances. The metadata can include log data associated with anoperation (e.g., original positions of instances before an operation isperformed, the time stamps of the operation that generates theinstances, etc.). As described in more detail below, in someembodiments, the metadata can enable re-projecting of therepresentations of instances regardless of whether the instances areconstrained in place (e.g., baked). In some embodiments, the metadatacan enable the animation program to move or edit existing instances as agroup. For example, the animation program generates and recordstimestamps of instances 304, which indicate that instances 304 areresults of a single paint-stroke operation. The animation program thusallows instances 304 (e.g., multiple instances of swoopy fern and desertjade assets) to be manipulated as a group. For example, as a group,instances 304 can be selected and moved to a different position, copied,and pasted to another animation scene or edited in any desired manner.

While FIG. 3A illustrates a paint-stroke based operation performed by,for example, pressing and holding sphere cursor 306 and moving it alongcurve 308. It is recognized that other types of paint-stroke basedoperations can be performed. For example, a paint-stroke based operationcan be performed by a single-click operation using a sphere cursor. Forexample, the animation program may receive user inputs as one or moresingle clicks via sphere cursor 306. Based on the received user inputs,the animation program can generate an individual representation of aninstance for each separate user input and project each individualrepresentation to display the corresponding instance in animation scene310.

In some examples, based on a single-click operation performed by theuser, a cluster of instances can be generated and projected onto theanimation scene. For example, the animation program may receive a userinput as a single click via sphere cursor 306. Based on the receivedsingle click, the animation program can generate representations of agroup (e.g., a clump or cluster) of instances positioned within or inthe vicinity of the radius of sphere cursor 306. The number of instanceswithin the group can be predetermined or preconfigured. The radius,size, shape, and other attributes of the group of instances can also bepredetermined or preconfigured. The animation program can thus projectthe representations by displaying the group of instances in animationscene 310 at positions indicated by sphere cursor 306. In someembodiments, after the group of instances is displayed in animationscene 310, the animation program can further generate metadataassociated with the group of instances. As described above, the metadatacan enable re-projecting of the representations of the group ofinstances irrespective of whether the instances are constrained in place(e.g., baked). In some embodiments, the metadata can enable theanimation program to move or edit the group of instances as a whole. Forexample, based on the metadata, a cluster of instances of swoopy fernand desert jade assets can be selected and moved to a differentposition, copied, and pasted to another animation scene, or edited inany desired manner, as a group rather than as individual instances.

In some embodiments, based on user request, the animation program canmanipulate existing instances of a computer-generated animation scene.For example, such manipulation can include erasing, scaling, altering,color multiplying, color blending, placing attractors, combing, etc. Formanipulating existing instances, a user can provide input indicating thedesired manipulation via one or more affordances on a user interface.The user can also provide input with respect to a computer-generatedanimation scene via a cursor. Similar to those described above, based onthe user inputs, the animation program can determine the type ofoperation (e.g., a paint-stroke based operation) and one or moreattributes associated with the instances to be used in the operation.For example, the animation program can determine that the operation tobe performed is paint-stroke based manipulation such as erasing,scaling, altering, color multiplying, color blending, placingattractors, combing, etc. Some of these operations are described in moredetail below.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary user interface 400 illustrating apaint-stroke based operation for erasing instances of acomputer-generated asset of an animation scene 420 in accordance withsome embodiments. In some embodiments, via a user interface 400, theanimation program can receive a user input requesting erasing ofexisting instances of animation scene 420. For example, using adrop-down menu 412, the animation program can receive the user'sselection of an “erase” operation in the paint-stroke mode. Theanimation program can thus determine that the operation to be performedis a paint-stroke based erasing operation. In some embodiments, theanimation program allows the user to use animation scene 420 to providefurther inputs for performing the erasing operation. As shown in FIG. 4,the user can press and hold sphere cursor 406 and move it along thecurve 408 to indicate the scope of the instances to be erased. Theanimation program receives such user inputs and determines that theinstances of plants within the radius of the sphere cursor 406 alongcurve 408 are to be erased. Accordingly, the animation program canmanipulate the representations (e.g., data points) of the instances. Forexample, the animation program can designate the representations of theinstances positioned approximately within the radius of sphere cursor406 along curve 408 for erasing. Based on the designatedrepresentations, the animation program can erase the correspondinginstances from animation scene 420.

In some embodiments, for an erasing operation, the animation program canallow the user to specify the type of asset and/or a percentage ofinstances to be erased. For example, user interface 400 can include adrop-down menu (not shown) for the user to select one or more particularassets (e.g., swoopy fern) to be erased and a text field for the user tospecify the percentage of instances (e.g., all, 10%, etc.) of theselected asset to be erased. Based on the user inputs, the animationprogram can designate the corresponding instances (e.g., all instancesof swoopy fern, 10% instances of swoopy fern, only bushes instances, butnot trees instances, etc.) of selected asset for erasing and erase themfrom the animation scene based on the designation. Accordingly, theanimation program can designate the specified instances for erasing anderase them from the animation scene.

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary user interface 500 illustrating paint-strokebased operation for scaling instances of a computer-generated asset ofan animation scene in accordance with some embodiments. In someembodiments, via user interface 500, the animation program can receive auser input requesting scaling of existing instances of animation scene520. For example, using a drop-down menu 512, the animation program canreceive the user's selection of a “scale” operation in the paint-strokemode. In some examples, the animation program can receive one or moreother selections via affordances of user interface 500, such as ascaling factor, a percentage of instances to be scaled, etc. Theanimation program can thus determine that the operation to be performedis a paint-stroke based scaling operation. In some embodiments, theanimation program allows the user to use animation scene 520 to providefurther inputs for performing the scaling operation. As shown in FIG. 5,the user can use a sphere cursor 506 and move it along the curve 508 toindicate the scope of the instances to be scaled. The animation programreceives such user inputs and determines that the instances positionedapproximately within the radius of the sphere cursor 506 along curve 508are to be scaled. In some examples, based on the user inputs, theanimation program can further determine the scaling factor (e.g.,increase by a factor of 2) or percentage (e.g., decrease by 50%).Accordingly, the animation program can manipulate the representations(e.g., data points) of the instances to be scaled. For example, theanimation program can designate the representations of the instancespositioned approximately within the radius of sphere cursor 506 alongcurve 508 for scaling; and determine representations of the post-scalinginstances by calculating the dimensions/positions of the post-scalinginstances. The animation program can thus scale the instances designatedfor scaling based on the representations of post-scaling instances. Ascaling operation can increase or decrease one or more dimensions (e.g.,length, width, height) of the instances. As shown in FIG. 5, onanimation scene, instances 504 are enlarged proportionally in alldimensions compared to unscaled instances 502.

In some embodiments, the animation program can allow the user to specifythe percentage of the instances to be scaled and/or a scaling factor orscaling percentage. For example, the animation program can provide atext field for the user to specify the percentage (e.g., 20%) of theinstances to be scaled, and a text field for the user to specify thescaling factor (e.g., factor of 2) or scaling percentage (e.g., enlargeby 10%). In some embodiments, user can also specify (e.g., via a similartext field) the percentage of instances with respect to which anotheroperation (e.g., a paint-stroke based operation such as erasinginstances, modifying instances, or the like) may be performed. Based onthe user inputs, the animation program can designate the specifiedpercentage of the instances of selected asset for scaling and scale themaccording to the scaling factor/percentage on the animation scene. Insome examples, the animation program can select the instances of thespecified percentage for scaling based on user's paint-stroke inputs(e.g., user moving sphere cursor 506 along curve 508) or select theinstances randomly (e.g., randomly select 20% of the instances onanimation scene 520). As another example, the animation program, viauser interface 500, can allow the user to select instances of one ormore pre-determined assets for scaling (e.g., only bushes instances, butnot trees instances). For example, user interface 500 can include adrop-down menu (not shown) for the user to select one or more particularassets (e.g., swoopy fern) to be scaled. Accordingly, the animationprogram can designate the instances of the selected assets for scaling,determine the representations (data points) of the post-scalinginstances, and display the scaled one or more instances based on therepresentations of post-scaling instances.

Besides erasing and scaling, the animation program can perform otherpaint-stroke based modification operations. For example, using adrop-down menu (not shown) on user interface 500, the animation programcan receive the user's selection of a modification operation, such asreplacing, changing attributes, re-randomizing, in the paint-strokemode. In some examples, the animation program can receive one or moreother selections via affordances of user interface 500, such as an assetto be used for the modification operation. The animation program canthus determine that the operation to be performed is a paint-strokebased modification operation. In some embodiments, the animation programallows the user to use a cursor to provide further inputs for performingthe operation with respect to an animation scene. For example, the usercan use a sphere cursor and move it along a curve to indicate the scopeof the instances to be modified. The animation program receives suchuser inputs and determines that the instances positioned approximatelywithin the radius of the sphere cursor along the curve are to bemodified.

In some examples, based on the user inputs, the animation program canfurther determine attributes associated with the modification operation.For example, the animation program can determine that a new asset is tobe used in a replacing operation (e.g., replacing all swoopy ferninstances with desert jade instances), or a new attribute (e.g., color,shape, dimension, position, etc.) of one or more instances is to be usedto change the appearance of some existing instances. Accordingly, theanimation program can manipulate the representations (e.g., data points)of the instances to be modified. For example, the animation program candesignate the representations of the instances positioned approximatelywithin the radius of the sphere cursor along the specified curve formodification, and determine representations of post-modificationinstances (e.g., determine the data points associated with the replacinginstances). The animation program can thus perform the requestedmodification operation on the animation scene.

As described above, a modification operation can include replacing oneor more existing instances of one computer-generated asset with one ormore instances of another computer-generated asset. For example, onanimation scene 520, instances 504 can be replaced with instances ofanother asset (e.g., bush instances can be replaced with treeinstances). A modification operation can also include changing at leastone attribute of the instances 504. For example, based on therepresentations designated for paint-stroke based modification, theanimation program can change one or more of color, shape, dimension,position, etc., of instances 504. The modification operation can alsoinclude re-randomizing instances 504. As described in more detail below,in an algorithm-based mode, the animation program can use arandomization algorithm to generate instances randomly in an animationscene. In some embodiments, based on the user's paint-stroke inputs, theanimation program can re-randomize some or all instances. For example,the animation program may receive user inputs indicating that instancesalong curve 508 within the radius of sphere cursor 506 are to bere-randomized. Accordingly, the animation program can re-generaterepresentations (data points) of instances 504 randomly based on, forexample, a different randomization seed. Based on the re-generatedrepresentations, the animation program can display the re-randomizedinstances 504, which can have a different distribution (e.g., differentpositions or density of instances) or different attributes (e.g., color,shape, etc.) from those of original instances 504.

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary user interface 600 illustrating apaint-stroke based operation for color-blending instances of acomputer-generated asset of an animation scene in accordance with someembodiments. Color-blending relates to blending the color of a firstlayer and the color of a second layer of one or more instances.Color-blending can include, for example, masking or hiding the color ofan underlying layer, dissolving, multiplying, screening, overlaying,hard lighting, soft lighting, dodging and burning, dividing, addition,subtracting, differencing, darkening, lightening, etc. As an example, inmasking or hiding the color of an underlying layer, the color of the toplayer is used for all the instances to be color-blended and the color ofthe underlying layer is hidden or masked. As another example, incolor-multiplying, the animation program can multiply the numbers ofeach pixel of a top layer with the corresponding pixel of a bottomlayer. Thus, for each instance to be color-blended, color-multiplyingcan enable the color attributes (e.g., RGB vector) of a top layer to beblended or diffused to a color of the bottom layer. In some embodiments,an operation related to color (e.g., color-blending or colormultiplying) may vary the color attributes and not other attributes ofthe instances. For example, attributes of a particular instance mayinclude a red color, certain texture, a brightness level, and otherattributes. A color-blending operation applied to the particularinstance may vary the red color to, for example, green, without varyingthe texture, the brightness level, and other attributes of the instance.

In some embodiments, in performing a color-blending operation, theanimation program receives one or more user inputs requesting to performa paint-stroke based color-blending operation of instances displayed onanimation scene 620. For example, using a drop-down menu 612 on userinterface 600, the animation program can receive the user's selection ofa color-blending operation (e.g., color-multiplying, dissolving,screening, overlaying, etc.) in the paint-stroke mode. In some examples,the animation program can receive one or more other selections viaaffordances of user interface 600, such as an asset to be used for thecolor-blending operation (e.g., only perform color-blending with respectto instances of swoopy ferns). Based on the user inputs, the animationprogram can thus determine that the operation to be performed is apaint-stroke based color-blending operation. In some embodiments, theanimation program allows the user to use a cursor to provide furtherinputs for performing the operation with respect to an animation scene.For example, the user can use sphere cursor 604 and move it along acurve to indicate the scope of the instances to be color-blended. Theanimation program receives such user inputs and determines that theinstances positioned approximately within the radius of the spherecursor 604 along the curve are to be color-blended.

In some examples, based on the user inputs, the animation program canfurther determine attributes associated with the color-blendingoperation. For example, the animation program can determine the colorattributes (e.g., an RGB vector), brightness, lighting, etc., of one ormore instances to be used for color-blending. Accordingly, the animationprogram can manipulate the representations (e.g., data points) of theinstances to be color-blended. The manipulation can include designatingrepresentations of the instances for color blending and determiningrepresentations of post-color-blending instances. For example, theanimation program can designate the representations of the instances 606and 608 (e.g., instances positioned approximately within the radius ofthe sphere cursor 604 along the specified curve) for color blending, anddetermine the representations of post-color-blending instances (e.g.,determine the color of the post-color-blending instances 606 and 608).The animation program can thus project the representations of thepost-color-blending instances onto animation scene 620 by displaying thecolor-blended one or more instances. As shown in FIG. 6, on animationscene 620, instances 606 and 608 can be color-blended and the animationprogram can display the color-blended instances 606 and 608 to have, forexample, pink and yellow colors respectively, instead of having theoriginal green color.

While FIGS. 2-6 illustrate some examples of paint-stroke based operation(e.g., generating, erasing, scaling, color-blending), it is recognizedthat an animation program can be configured to perform any desiredpaint-stroke based operations. As one example, a paint-stroke basedoperation can include an operation to generate an attractor on ananimation scene. An attractor enables an animation of attractinginstances positioned approximately within a pre-determined radius of theattractor to move toward the attractor's position. For example, anattractor can be an attracting point or sphere that is disposed in ananimation scene. In a dynamic simulation of an animation, the attractorcan attract instances positioned approximately within the radius ofcenter of the attracting sphere to move toward the attractor's position.In some embodiments, in placing an attractor, the animation program canreceive, via one or more affordances (e.g., text fields for specifyingthe operation is an attractor placing operation) of a user interface,user inputs requesting placing of an attractor on the animation scene.In some examples, the animation program can also receive user inputsindicating the strength of the attraction (e.g., higher strength ofattraction may cause the instances to move faster toward the attractor'sposition). The animation program can thus determine that the operationto be performed is a paint-stroke based attractor operation. In someembodiments, the animation program allows the user to use a cursor toprovide further inputs for performing the operation with respect to ananimation scene. For example, the user can use a sphere cursor with aconfigurable radius to indicate the position and radius of an attractorpoint or sphere on the animation scene. In some embodiments, one or moreaffordances (e.g., text fields) can be used to receive the coordinatesof the attractor. Based on the user inputs, the animation program cangenerate a representation of an attractor having the specified radius.Based on the representation of the attractor, the animation program canprovide the attraction sphere on the animation scene. In someembodiments, the animation program can display the attraction sphere onthe animation scene such that it is visible. In some embodiments, theattraction sphere may not be displayed or visible.

As another example, a paint-stroke based operation can include a combingoperation. A combing operation facilitates a variation of theorientations of instances toward a pre-determined direction. In someembodiments, in a combing operation, the animation program receives oneor more user inputs (e.g., via a text field of a user interface)requesting to perform a paint-stroke based combing operation on theanimation scene. Based on the user inputs, the animation program candetermine that the operation to be performed is a paint-stroke basedcombing operation. In some embodiments, the animation program allows theuser to use a cursor to provide further inputs for performing thecombing operation. For example, the user can press, hold, and move asphere cursor having a configurable radius toward a desired direction,thereby indicating that the instances within the radius of the spherecursor is to be combed toward the desired direction (e.g., changing theorientations toward to the desired direction). The animation programreceives such user inputs, designates the representations of theinstances within the specified radius of the sphere cursor for combing,and determines representations of post-combing instances. For example,the representations of post-combing instances can include dataindicating the new positions of the instances. Based on therepresentations of the post-combing instances, the animation program canshow orientation variation of the instances (e.g., leaning, facing,twisting, rotating) toward the specified direction.

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary user interface 700 illustrating analgorithm-based operation for modifying instances of acomputer-generated asset of an animation scene in accordance with someembodiments. As described above, the animation program can perform analgorithm-based operation with respect to instances of one or morecomputer-generated assets. An algorithm-based operation can be performedin accordance with a preconfigured algorithm with respect to multipleinstances in absence of a paint stroke. Similar to a paint-stroke basedoperation, an algorithm-based operation can also be based onrepresentations (e.g., data points) of the instances.

As an example illustrated in FIG. 7, in some embodiments, in analgorithm-based operation, the animation program can receive a userinput (e.g., via a text field or a drop-down menu of a user interface700) requesting to invoke an algorithm-based operation. Based on theuser input, the animation program can configure the operating mode tothe algorithm mode. An algorithm-based operation can include, forexample, a flood-fill operation. A flood-fill operation can randomlygenerate and place instances across an area of an animation scene. Insome examples, to perform a flood-fill operation, the animation programreceives one or more user inputs requesting to perform flood-filloperation on animation scene 720. For example, using a drop-down menu712 on user interface 700, the animation program can receive the user'sselection of a flood-fill operation under the algorithm mode. In someexamples, the animation program can receive one or more other selectionsvia affordances of user interface 700, such as the number (e.g., 3)and/or type of assets (e.g., bushes, trees, flowers, etc.) to be usedfor flood fill. The animation program can thus determine that theoperation to be performed is an algorithm-based flood-fill operation. Insome examples, a flood-fill operation can be used to generate a baselayer or coat of an animation scene. A flood-fill operation can befollowed by other operations such as a culling operation (described inmore detail below) and a paint-stroke based operation.

In some examples, based on the user inputs, the animation program canfurther determine one or more attributes associated with analgorithm-based operation. Determining the one or more attributes caninclude randomly selecting a computer-generated asset for each instanceand/or selecting a computer-generated asset for each instance based onthe user inputs. As an example, for a flood-fill operation, the userinput may not indicate either the number of assets or the type of assetsto be used; may indicate only the number of assets; or may indicate onlythe type of assets. If the user input does not indicate either thenumber of assets or the type of assets to be used, the animation programcan randomly select an asset for each instance to be generated based onavailable assets. If the user input indicates only the number of assets(e.g., 2), the animation program can randomly select the type of assets(e.g., swoopy fern and desert jade) to be used according to theindicated number of assets and randomly select an asset for eachinstance to be generated. If the user input indicates the type of assets(swoopy fern and desert jade) to be used, the animation program canrandomly select an asset for each instance among the indicated type ofassets. In some embodiments, the animation program can also determineother attributes such as colors, shape, dimension, etc., for eachinstance to be generated in a flood-fill operation. Such determinationcan include randomly selecting an attribute for each instance and/orselecting the attribute based on user inputs.

In accordance with the determination of the type of operation (e.g.,flood fill) and one or more attributes (e.g., 3 types of assets to beused), the animation program can process representations of theinstances to be generated. For a flood-fill operation, for example, theanimation program can generate representations (e.g., data points) of apre-determined number of instances of one or more computer-generatedassets (e.g., swoopy fern and desert jade); and project the processedrepresentations of the instances onto the animation scene. Thepre-determined number of instances can be obtained based on a directuser input (e.g., 1000 instances), a calculation according to a userinput of density (e.g., flood-fill the instances to a certain level ofdensity) or other attributes of the instances. As shown in FIG. 7, theanimation program can display instances 706, 708, and 710 correspondingto three different types of assets randomly across an area (e.g., asurface area 704 of the rock instance 702) in animation scene 720.

In addition to a flood-fill operation as described above, analgorithm-based operation can include operations for manipulatingexisting instances, such as global scaling, scaling variation for eachof the instances, initial orientation of the instances, algorithm-basedcolor blending of the instances, separating of adjacent instances, andhue-saturation-value (HSV) variation for each of the instances. A globalscaling operation can scale all instances on an animation scene byincreasing or decreasing the dimensions of instances. A global scalingoperation can use one or more scaling algorithms such asnearest-neighbor interpolation, bilinear and bicubic algorithms, sincand Lanczos resampling, box sampling, Fourier transform, or the like. Ascaling variation operation can vary the degree of scaling (e.g.,scaling factor, scaling percentage) for each of the instances. Thevariation can be randomized or controlled (e.g., variation by +/−10%).An initial orientation operation can configure the initial orientation(e.g., horizontal/vertical orientations, angular orientation, etc.) ofthe instances on the animation scene. The initial orientation can berandom or controlled.

A separating operation can separate adjacent instances such that theinstances are moved away from each other to avoid overlapping. An HSVvariation operation can randomly or selectively vary the hue,saturation, and brightness representations of points in an RGB colormodel of an instance. An algorithm-based color blending operationrelates to blending the color of a first layer and the color of a secondlayer of one or more instances using an algorithm. As described above,these algorithm-based operations do not require paint strokes and can beperformed automatically upon the user's request using, for example,affordances on a user interface (e.g., buttons, drop-down menu, textfields, etc.). As one example, the global scaling operation can beperformed with respect to some or all instances on an animation scene,some or all instances that are unconstraint or not baked, or allinstances of a type, in absence of paint strokes. For instance, theglobal scaling operation (or any other operations such as color-blendingoperation) can be performed to the instances that are not constrained orbaked, or that are previously constrained or baked but subsequentlyunconstrained. In some embodiments, the animation program can receiveuser inputs to render constrained instances live or render one or moreattributes of the instances available for manipulation. For example,based on the user input, the animation program can render the scaleattribute of constrained or baked instances to be available formanipulation or variation, while restraining or disallowing otherattributes of the instances (e.g., color, texture, etc.) from beingmanipulated or varied. As a result, a global scaling operation (or anyother operations such as color-blending operation) can be performed toscale the instances without affecting other attributes of the instances.Constraining or baking of the instances are discussed in more detailbelow with respect to FIGS. 12A-12B. As another example, unlike apaint-stroke based color-blending operation, the algorithm-basedcolor-blending operation can be performed using default or user-providedattributes (e.g., RGB vector, reference geometry, etc.), thereforeeliminating the requirement for paint strokes.

In some embodiments, the animation program receives one or more userinputs requesting to perform an algorithm-based operation formanipulating existing instances (e.g., global scaling, HSV variation),and determines at least one of the types of operation and attributesassociated with the assets to be used in the operation. In accordancewith the determination, the animation program can processrepresentations by, for example, manipulating the representations of theexisting instances using a corresponding modification algorithm (e.g.,calculate the new dimensions of instances using a global scalingalgorithm). Based on the manipulated representations of the existinginstances, the animation program can project the manipulatedrepresentations to the animation scene by displaying the modifiedinstances (e.g., scaled instances, HSV varied instance, etc.).

FIG. 8A depicts an exemplary user interface 800 illustrating analgorithm-based operation for culling instances of a computer-generatedasset of an animation scene in accordance with some embodiments. Aculling operation is an algorithm-based operation that can segregateexisting instances from a group according to one or more characteristicsassociated with the animation scene. A culling operation can be based onone or more of, for example, a camera view, a slope, a position, anoise, a pattern, a textual map, ambient occlusion, and overlapping. Aculling operation based on a camera view can erase or remove one or moreexisting instances that are outside of a camera frustum or view frustum.A camera view captures the display of an animation scene to the userfrom a particular viewpoint or angle. Different cameras can providedifferent views of an animation scene. The camera frustum is the fieldof view of the camera. Culling operations can be performed with respectto instances in the near field (e.g., close to a camera), far field(e.g., far away from the camera), or a combination of near field and farfield. In some embodiments, the animation program can also provideanimated culling operations, where instances that are positioned outsideof the viewing frustum are removed from the culling operation.

In some embodiments, a culling operation based on a slope can erase orremove one or more existing instances disposed in an area having a slopethat is above or below a preconfigured slope. FIG. 8A illustratesperforming a culling operation based on a specified slope of theunderlying surface. In the exemplary culling operation shown in FIG. 8A,some of instances 806 (e.g., swoopy fern instances) are erased from rockarea 804 because the slope of rock area 804 is greater than a specifiedslope (e.g., 45 degree). As a result, instances 806 originally disposedwithin rock area 804 may appear to be “falling off” because of the steepslope of rock area 804. The “falling off” of the instances generallyrefers to the effect of variation of one or more attributes of theinstances. For example, the density of instances within rock area 804(where a slope is greater than 45 degree) is less than the density ofinstances in other areas where the slope is less than 45 degree (e.g.,top of the rock). It is appreciated that “falling off” can refer to anyeffect of variation of any attributes in any manner (e.g., a customized“falling off” such that the instances have a high density in a firstarea, a medium density in second area, and a high density in a thirdarea). In some embodiments, the rate of “falling off” can vary based onthe degree of the slope. For example, the rate of “failing off” based onan 80-degree slope can be higher than that based on a 40-degree slope.In some embodiments, “falling off” of the instances generates an effectthat can more naturally match the reality.

In some embodiments, a culling operation based on a position can eraseor remove one or more existing instances disposed in an area having aheight that is greater than or less than a preconfigured height. Forexample, some instances of plants can be removed from a height above athreshold height in an animation scene, reflecting the reality this typeof plants usually does not grow above the threshold height. In someexamples, a culling operation based on a position can optionally includea falloff effect of the instances to be removed.

In some embodiments, a culling operation based on noise or a pattern canerase or remove one or more existing instances having noise that isabove or below a preconfigured threshold. An instance of an asset can beassociated with a world space position. The world space is a space inwhich instances of assets are combined to create an environment to beviewed. The world space can also be a space in which light sources andcameras are placed. Each instance in the world space can have anassociated position. In some examples, the world space positions of aninstance can be determined based on a local space and/or a noise space.Instances in a local space or a noise space can have associated noisepatterns. Thus, a culling operation based on noise can remove instanceswhose world space positions having associating noise patterns above orbelow a certain threshold. A culling operation based on computergraphics can receive computer graphics and erase or remove existinginstances by luminance. For example, certain instances that haveluminance above (e.g., too bright) or below (e.g., too dark) thresholdluminance may be erased. A culling operation based on ambient occlusioncan erase or remove one or more existing instances that are disposedwithin or outside of, for example, a crevice, a crack, or an undersideof geometry. A culling operation based on overlapping can erase orremove one or more existing instances that overlap with each other. Forexample, instances of a bush and a tree may be overlapping each other ata particular position of an animation scene. Performing a cullingoperation based on overlapping can erase one instance (either the bushor the tree), and preserve the other instance.

As illustrated in FIG. 8A, in some embodiments, in performing a cullingoperation, the animation program can receive one or more user inputs(e.g., via a drop-down menu 812 of user interface 800) requesting toperform a culling operation. Based on the user inputs, the animationprogram determines the type of operation and optionally one or moreattributes (e.g., a slope threshold, a height threshold, a noisethreshold, etc.). In accordance with the determination, the animationprogram can process representations of existing instances bymanipulating the representations for culling of the instances. Forexample, the animation program can designate those instances disposed ina rock area having a slope that is greater than a slope threshold forerasing. The animation program can thus project the processedrepresentations to the animation scene. For example, the animationprogram can erase, from displaying, the one or more existing instancesassociated with the one or more representations designated for erasingas a result of culling-by-slope. In some examples, the removal orerasing of the one or more existing instances designated for cullingrepresents the effect of “falling off” (e.g., variation of attributes ofthe instances, such as density, color, type, etc.).

In some embodiments, the animation program can perform a relaxingoperation. A relaxing operation can be applied to one or more instancessuch that the degree of overlapping of the instances reduces. FIGS.8B-8D depict an exemplary user interface illustrating an algorithm-basedoperation for relaxing instances of a computer-generated asset of ananimation scene in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 8B illustratesinstances 812 with no relaxing applied. FIG. 8C illustrates instances812 with some relaxing applied such that the instances 812 have lessoverlapping with one another. FIG. 8D illustrates instances 812 withlots of relaxing applied (e.g., the plants have more reduced overlappingwith one another).

As described above, an algorithm-based operation can include flood-filloperation, various modification operations (e.g., global scale, initialorientation, etc.), and various culling operations. It is recognized theanimation program can be configured to perform any other desiredalgorithm-based operations.

FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary user interface 900 illustrating adirect-manipulating operation for directly manipulating existinginstances of a computer-generated asset of an animation scene inaccordance with some embodiments. As described above, the type ofoperation that the animation program can perform can include adirect-manipulating operation. A direct-manipulating operation can beperformed directly on the geometry of instances visualized in theanimation scene, rather than manipulating underlying representations(e.g., data points) of the instances and projecting the manipulatedrepresentations to display the geometry of the instances on theanimation scene. A direct-manipulating operation can includemodification of the existing instance by, for example, moving,transforming, rotating, scaling, and erasing, etc., the geometry of theinstances.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the animation program can receive auser input requesting to perform a direct-manipulating operation such asmoving one or more existing instances (e.g., using a drop-down menu 912)in a direct manipulating mode. Based on the user input, the animationprogram can determine that the type of operation is adirect-manipulating operation. In accordance with the determination, theanimation program can process the representations of the existinginstances (e.g., instances 904, 908, and 910) to enabledirect-manipulating by the user. In some examples, the animation programcan generate primitive data based on the representations of theinstances. Primitive data represents actual geometry of the instanceswhile the representations of the instances are data points stored in adata structure. In some embodiments, the geometry of instances displayedusing primitive data can be directly manipulated by the user withoutfirst manipulating of the underlying data points of the instances.

After generating the primitive data, the animation program can displayor re-display the geometry of the existing instances using thecorresponding primitive data to enable direct manipulation by the user.In some embodiments, the animation program can receive manipulation ofthe displayed geometry of the instances directly from the user. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 9, the animation program can receive a userinput to move the geometry of instances 910 with respect to those ofinstances 904 and 908 on animation scene 920. After receiving such userinput, the animation program can display the geometry of the manipulated(e.g., moved) instances 910. In some embodiments, the animation programcan generate representations of the manipulated instances. For example,as shown in FIG. 9, after instances 910 are moved to its new position,the animation program can generate data points representing the movedinstances 910 based on the primitive data of moved instances 910.Converting the primitive data back to representations of the instances(e.g., data points) enables further operations such as paint-strokebased or algorithm-based operations to be performed on the instances.

In some embodiments, the animation program can perform an animationoperation. In an animation operation, one or more instances can beanimated or deformed. To perform an animation operation, the animationprogram receives one or more user inputs requesting to animate one ormore instances of an animation scene. For example, the user inputs mayindicate an animation of fake wind is to be performed. Fake windanimation animates a rotation of one or more instances at its originalposition, therefore adding the effect of a motion caused by wind to, forexample, background plants (e.g., trees, bushes, flowers). Based on theuser inputs, the animation program determines that the type of operationis animation (e.g., fake wind animation), and processes therepresentations of the instances. In some embodiments, the animationprogram can associate an animated motion with the representations of theinstances. For example, the animation program can associate a rotationor swing motion with certain instances (e.g., instances of trees). Theanimation program can thus display an animation of the instances inaccordance with the animated motion.

In some embodiments, the animation program can perform a partitionoperation. FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary user interface 1000 forreceiving a user input requesting to partition a plurality of instancesof a computer-generated asset of an animation scene in accordance withsome embodiments. A partition operation can segregate a plurality ofexisting instances to two or more separate groups of instances.Partitioning of instances can facilitate organizing data for renderinglayers, handing off to other designers, or structuring an animationscene.

With reference to FIG. 10, to perform a partition operation, theanimation program can receive one or more user inputs requestingpartitioning via, for example, a user interface 1000. User interface1000 can include a plurality of affordances (e.g., drop-down menu 1004,buttons 1006, 1008 and 1020, and checkboxes 1010, 1012, 1014, 1016, and1018) to receive one or more selections associated with the partitionoperation. For example, the user may select a partition mode to bepartition-by-asset using drop-down menu 1004. Partition-by-asset allowssegregating the instances of two or more assets into a plurality ofgroups. After partitioning, at least some of the plurality of groupsincludes instances of only one type of asset.

As an example shown in FIG. 10, the user may select, using checkboxes1010 and 1012, an asset of swoopy fern and an asset of trileaves. Asanother example, the user can select all assets or select no asset usingbuttons 1006 (“Enable All”) and 1008 (“Disable All”), respectively. Theuser can also invert the selection using button 1018. Based on the userinputs, the animation program can determine the type of partition (e.g.,partition-by-asset) and attributes associated with the partition (e.g.,enabling “swoopy fern” and “trileaves” partition). In accordance of thedetermination, the animation program can identify representations of aplurality of groups of instances. For example, the animation program canidentify representations of a first group of the existing instances(e.g., a group of swoopy fern instances) and representations of a secondgroup of the existing instances (e.g., a group of trileaves instances).In some embodiments, the identification begins after the user press thepartition button 1020 of user interface 1000. Based on theidentification, the animation program can project the identifiedrepresentations of the plurality of groups of instances onto one or moreanimation scenes. For example, in accordance with the identification ofthe respective representations of the first group and second group, theanimation program can display the first group of instances (e.g., swoopyfern instances) on a first animation scene and display the second groupof instances (e.g., trileaves instances) on a second animation scene.

FIGS. 11A-11C depict an exemplary user interface 1100 illustrating apartition operation of instances of a computer-generated asset inaccordance with some embodiments. With reference to FIG. 11A, to performa partition operation, the animation program can receive one or moreuser inputs requesting to perform a partition operation via userinterface 1100. User interface 1100 can include a plurality ofaffordances (e.g., drop-down menu 1112) to receive one or moreselections associated with the partition operation. For example, theuser may select a partition split mode to be partition-by-selectionusing drop-down menu 1112. Partition-by-selection allows segregating theinstances into a plurality of groups based on the user's selection. Asillustrated in FIG. 11A, the user may select, for example, instances1106 (i.e., the middle portion of plants covering the surface of rock1102) to be separated from instances 1104 and 1108.

Based on the user inputs, the animation program can determine the typeof partition (e.g., partition-by-selection) and attributes associatedwith the partition (e.g., the user selected instances 1106 relative toother instances). In accordance of the determination, the animationprogram can identify representations of a plurality of groups ofinstances. For example, the animation program can identifyrepresentations of a first group of the existing instances (e.g., thegroup of instances 1106) and representations of a second group of theexisting instances (e.g., the group of instances 1104 and 1108). Theanimation program can thus project the identified representations of theplurality of groups of instances onto one or more animation scenes. Forexample, in accordance with the identification of the respectiverepresentations of the first group and second group, the animationprogram can display the first group of instances (e.g., instances 1106)on a first animation scene (e.g., scene 1122 shown in FIG. 11C) anddisplay the second group of instances (e.g., instances 1104 and 1108) ona second animation scene (scene 1121 shown in FIG. 11B). As a result,the instances 1104, 1106, and 1108 as shown in FIG. 11A are effectivelysegregated.

FIG. 10 and FIGS. 11A-11C illustrate partition operations such aspartition-by-asset and partition-by-selection. It is recognized that apartition operation can include any desired type of partition, such aspartition-by-color or partition-by-size. In some embodiments, the typeof operation can be a combination of two or more partition operations.For example, FIG. 11D depicts an exemplary user interface 1140illustrating the result of a combination of partition operations ofinstances of a computer-generated asset in accordance with someembodiments. With reference to FIG. 11D, a partition-by-asset operationdescribed above with respect to FIG. 10 and a partition-by-selectionoperation described above with respect to FIGS. 11A-11C can be combinedto generate the result as shown in FIG. 11D. As shown in FIG. 11D, bycombing the two types of partition operations, the animation program cangenerate an animation scene 1125 including instances 1116 thatcorrespond to a single type of asset (e.g., desert jade) as a result ofpartition-by-asset and correspond to a portion selected by the user(e.g., the middle portion) as a result of partition-by-selection.

In some embodiments, instances generated from one or more partitioningoperations can be combined, integrated, or fused together. FIG. 11Edepicts a user interface 1160 illustrating combining two groups ofinstances to generate a combined animation scene. For example, theanimation program can receive a user input requesting to combineinstances 1116 (shown in FIG. 11D) with instances 1104 and 1108 (shownin FIG. 11B). As described above, instances 1116 and instances 1104 and1108 are instances resulted from various partition operations. Based onthe user inputs, the animation program can determine the type ofoperation is to combine instances resulted from previous partitionoperations. In accordance with the determination, the animation programcan identify representations of a first group of instances (e.g.,instances 1116) and a second group of instances (e.g., instances 1104and 1108), and display the first and second groups of instances on asingle animation scene (e.g., scene 1126). This effectively combines thetwo groups of instances resulted from partition operations. It isrecognized that the animation program can perform one or more partitionoperations and one or more combining operations in any desired order togenerate any desired animation scene.

FIGS. 12A-12B depict an exemplary user interface 1200 illustrating are-projecting operation for instances of a computer-generated asset ofan animation scene in accordance with some embodiments. As describedabove, the animation program can perform various operations (e.g., apaint-stroke operation) requested by the user. In some embodiments, theinstances resulted from these operations are not constrained in placeand can thus be modified again with another operation. For example, in afirst operation, instances of a swoopy fern may be disposed in oneplace; and in a second operation, the same instances of swoopy fern maybe culled to another place. Thus, because the instances resulted fromthe first operation are not constrained in place or baked, the secondoperation can affect the same instances used in the first operation.These instances are referred to as live instances. Live instances arenot constrained in place with respect to other instances or layers of ananimation scene. Attributes of the live instances can be readilymanipulated or varied.

Under some circumstances, a user may want to constrain the existinginstances in place so that further operations are only performed withrespect to new instances without affecting the existing instances. Aninstance that is constrained in place with respect to other instances orlayers of an animation scene is also referred to as a constrained orbaked instance. In some embodiments, constraining or baking theinstances in place can enable optimization of the process of generatinganimation scenes. For example, by constraining the instances in place,the animation program may only be required to process the other liveinstances, therefore reducing the time for generating an animationscene. In some embodiments, constrained or baked instances of animatedassets can enable efficient layering of the instances. For example, theanimation program can perform one or more paint-stroke operations togenerate a plurality of rock instances and then constrain them in placeas a first layer. The animation program can then perform anotherpaint-stroke operation to generate additional rocks and then constrainthem in place as a second layer, and so on. In some examples, the secondlayer of rocks, constrained in place as a group, can be placed on top ofthe first layer of rocks, thereby generating an effect of rock piling onan animation scene. In some embodiments, the constrained instances canbe used in a dynamic mode as collision geometry. In a dynamic mode, theinstances are processed to reflect reality in such that the instancesare placed more naturally. For example, in a dynamic mode, a secondlayer of constrained rocks can be piled on top of the first layer ofrocks in a manner that more naturally reflects the effects of gravity orother factors that may affect the special relation of the rocks betweeneach other.

Under various circumstances, constrained or baked instances may berequired to be manipulated. For example, as shown in FIG. 12A, ananimation scene 1220 may include underlying rock instances 1202 and aplurality of character instances (e.g., instances 1204, 1206, and 1208)disposed on the surface of rock instances 1202. The plurality ofcharacter instances shown in FIG. 12A may be constrained or baked inplace such that their positions with respect to the underlying rockinstances 1202 are fixed. With reference to FIG. 12B, under somecircumstances, after constraining the character instances in place, thegeometry or surface of the underlying rock instances 1202 may vary dueto any number of reasons (e.g., due to model change). As a result, thespatial relation of at least some of the character instances withrespect to the surface of rock instances 1202 may also vary. Thevariation of the spatial relation may or may not require re-projectingof the character instances. As an example, as shown in FIG. 12B, afterthe variation of the geometry of underlying rock instances 1202, acharacter instance 1206 may still be disposed properly on top of thesurface of rock instances 1202, and therefore may not requirere-projecting. As another example, as shown in FIG. 12A, characterinstance 1204 may be originally disposed on top of a rock instance 1202Aproperly. As shown in FIG. 12B, after the geometry of the underlyingrock instances 1202 varies, character instance 1204 may no longer beproperly disposed on the surface of a rock instance, but may appear tobe hanging in the air. As a result, re-projecting of character instance1204 may be required.

In some embodiments, the animation program can re-project constrained orbaked instances. As describe above, the animation program can performvarious operations with respect to live instances or some attributes ofconstrained instances (e.g., a scale attribute may be manipulated butnot other attributes). The performance of the operations can includeprocessing representations (e.g., data points) of the instances. In someexamples, the animation program can generate metadata associated withthe representations of the instances. For example, the animation programcan generate and store the original positions (e.g., positions in aworld-space) of instances in a camera plane before an operation isperformed and positions after the operation is performed. The metadatacan thus enable re-projecting of the processed representations of theone or more instances irrespective of the one or more instances beingconstrained in place. For example, as shown in FIG. 12B, the animationprogram can determine that the geometry of the surface underlying theconstrained character instance 1204 has been modified. In accordancewith the determination, the animation program can re-project therepresentation of instance 1204 (e.g., representation of a paint-strokebased operation that generates instance 1204) onto the modified geometryof the surface of underlying rock instances 1202. In some examples, there-projecting can be based on the original positions of characterinstance 1204 in a camera plane and the modified geometry of underlyingrock instances 1202. For example, using the original position andmodified geometry data, the animation program can determine a properposition for character instance 1204 such that it would not appear to behanging in the air.

In some embodiments, when the geometry of a surface underlying multipleinstances is modified, a complete re-projecting of all instances may notbe required. The animation program can determine that some instances donot require any re-projection (e.g., instance 1206) and some instancesmay require re-projection. In some example, the re-projection caninclude moving the instance to its nearest proper position with respectto the surface of the underlying instances. For example, there-projecting of character instance 1204 may include moving or snappinginstance 1204 to the nearest position 1214 on the surface of underlyingrock instances 1202. As described above, the animation program can alsore-project one or more attributes of an instance without affecting otherattributes of the instance. For example, re-projection can be made withrespect to the position of the instance while keeping the otherattributes (e.g., color, texture, brightness) the same.

In some embodiments, re-projecting of instances can be performed withrespect to either live instances or constrained/baked instances. Asdescribed above, metadata can be generated and stored for each instanceand for each operation of the instance. Therefore, using the metadata,re-projecting of an instance can be readily performed regardless ofwhether the instance is live or constrained.

As described above, the animation program can project processedrepresentations of instances (e.g., representations of instancesassociated with a paint-stroke based operation) onto an animation scenesuch that the instances are displayed. In some embodiments, theprojection can use various polygon models to balance the projecting(e.g., rendering) speed and the image resolution. For example, undersome circumstances, the user may want to see the rough effect ofprojecting a particular instance onto the animation scene. Thus, theimage resolution requirement may not be high but the projecting speedmay need to be fast. Under other circumstances, the user may want to seedetails of a particular instance when it is projected onto the animationscene. Thus, the image resolution requirement may be higher.

In some embodiments, to balance the requirements for projecting speedand image resolution, the animation program can obtain a plurality ofpolygon models for each of the computer-generated assets. The pluralityof polygon models includes models having different number of polygonsand therefore has different image resolutions. For example, the polygonmodels can include a full-resolution model, a high-resolution mode, amedium-resolution model, a low-resolution model, a box, or a card. Thenumber of polygons in each of these models may be different. Forexample, a high-resolution model may have 1500 polygons; amedium-resolution model may have 500 polygons; a low-resolution modelmay have 100 polygons; a box model may have 24 polygons; and a card mayhave only 1 polygon. FIGS. 13A-13B depict exemplary polygon models ofcomputer-generated assets in accordance with some embodiments. As shownin FIG. 13A, a computer-generated leaf can have, for example, differentpolygon models 1302, 1304, 1306, 1308, 1310, and 1312, with increasingnumber of polygons and therefore increasing image resolution anddecreasing projecting (e.g., rendering) speed. As shown in FIG. 13B, acomputer-generated flower can have, for example, different polygonmodels 1322, 1324, 1326, 1328, 1330, and 1332, with increasing number ofpolygons and therefore increasing image resolution and decreasingprojecting (e.g., rendering) speed. In some embodiments, the polygonmodels can be generated by a range LOD (Level of Detail) visualizationsystem.

In some embodiments, the animation program can project the processedrepresentations (e.g., representations of instances in a paint-strokebased operation) of the instances of at least one computer-generatedasset onto an animation scene using one or more of the plurality ofpolygon models. For example, if the user desires to see a rough effect,the animation program can project the representation of an instanceusing a low-resolution polygon model. If the user desires to see moredetails of the instance, the animation program can project using ahigh-resolution or a full-resolution polygon model. Projecting usinglower resolution polygon model can be faster than projecting usinghigher resolution polygon model. Thus, in some examples, the projectioncan be performed in an iterative manner. For example, the animationprogram can first display an instance using a card, followed by a box,followed by a low-resolution polygon model, followed by amedium-resolution polygon model, and so on. An iterative projection canbalance the often contradicting requirements for fast projecting andhigh resolution, allowing the user to see a rough effect of a projectedinstance before seeing more details of the instance.

Turning now to FIG. 14, embodiments and optional features of thetechniques described above are discussed with reference to exemplaryprocess 1400. FIG. 14 depicts a flow diagram illustrating process 1400for composing an animation scene in a computer-generated animation. Insome embodiments, portions of process 1400 are performed on one or morecomputing system, such as computing system 1500 described below withreference to FIG. 15. Portions of process 1400 may be performed on acomputing system local to a user. Some portions of process 1400 may beprovided as a service by a remote computing system (e.g., a server overthe Internet). Some operations in process 1400 may be combined, theorder of some operations may be changed, and some operations may beomitted.

At block 1402, a user input requesting to perform an operation on one ormore computer-generated assets in an animation scene is received. Atblock 1404, based on the user input, a type of operation and one oremore attributes associated with the one or more computer-generatedassets in the animation scene can be determined. In some embodiments,the type of operation can include one or more of a paint-stroke basedoperation, an algorithm-based operation, a direct manipulatingoperation, an animation operation, and a partitioning operation. In someembodiments, the at least one attribute can include one or more ofposition, radius, color, density, opacity, strength, texture, ramp, andlinearity associated with the computer-generated asset in the animationscene, and a type of partition.

Based on the determination of the type of operation and one or moreattributes, representations of one or more instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset can be processed (block 1408), and theprocessed representations can be projected (block 1410) onto theanimation scene to perform the operation.

At block 1412, in some embodiments, metadata associated with therepresentations of the one or more instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset can be generated. At block 1414, the processedrepresentations of the instances can be re-projected using the metadata.In some examples, The re-projection using the metadata is irrespectiveof the one or more instances being constrained in place.

In some embodiments, the type of operation user requested can be apaint-stroke based operation. In these embodiments, receiving the userinput can include receiving one or more paint strokes with respect tothe animation scene. The one or more paint strokes can be associatedwith a radius and can indicate a curve extending across at least part ofthe animation scene. In some examples, determining at least oneattribute associated with the at least one computer-generated assetincludes at least one of: randomly selecting a computer-generated assetfor each instance of the one or more instances in the animation scene;and selecting a computer-generated asset for each instance of the one ormore instances based on the user input.

In some embodiments where the type of operation user requested is apaint-stroke based operation, processing representations of one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset can includegenerating representations of the one or more instances of the at leastone computer-generated asset in accordance with the at least oneattribute. In some examples, generating representations of the one ormore instances of the at least one computer-generated asset can includegenerating a plurality of representations of instances of the at leastone computer-generated asset in accordance with the radius associatedwith the one or more paint strokes and in accordance with the curveindicated by the one or more paint strokes. Further, projecting theprocessed representations of the one or more instances of the at leastone computer-generated assets onto the animation scene can includedisplaying, based on the plurality of generated representations, the oneor more instances within the radius associated with the one or morepaint strokes. The one or more instances are positioned along the curveindicated by the one or more paint strokes in the animation scene.

In some embodiments, generating representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset can includegenerating an individual representation of an instance for each separateuser input; and projecting the processed representations of the one ormore instances of the at least one computer-generated asset onto theanimation scene can include displaying, based on the individualrepresentation of an instance for each separate user input, one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset in the animationscene.

In some embodiments, generating representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset can includegenerating, based on a single user input, representations of a group ofinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset; and projectingthe processed representations of the one or more instances of the atleast one computer-generated asset onto the animation scene can includedisplaying, based on the representations of a group of instances of theat least one computer-generated asset, the group of instances of the atleast one computer-generated asset in the animation scene.

In some embodiments, processing representations of one or more instancesof the at least one computer-generated asset can include manipulatingrepresentations of the one or more instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset in accordance with at least one attribute.

In some embodiments, manipulating representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset comprises atleast one of: designating representations of a percentage of the one ormore instances of the at least one computer-generated asset formanipulating; and designating representations of one or morepre-determined instances of the at least one computer-generated assetfor manipulating.

In some embodiments, manipulating representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset can includedesignating, based on the user input, one or more representations of theone or more instances of the at least one computer-generated asset forerasing; and projecting the processed representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset onto theanimation scene can include erasing, from displaying, the one or moreinstances associated with the one or more representations designated forerasing.

In some embodiments, manipulating representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset can includedesignating one or more representations of the one or more instances ofthe at least one computer-generated asset for scaling, and determiningrepresentations of post-scaling instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset. In some embodiments, projecting the processedrepresentations of the one or more instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset onto the animation scene can include displayingscaled one or more instances based on the representations ofpost-scaling instances, wherein the scaling increases or decreasesdimensions of the one or more instances.

In some embodiments, manipulating representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset can includedesignating one or more representations of the one or more instances ofthe at least one computer-generated asset for paint-stroke basedmodification, and determining representations of post-modificationinstances. In some embodiments, projecting the processed representationsof the one or more instances of the at least one computer-generatedasset onto the animation scene comprises performing, based on therepresentations of the post-modification instances, at least one of:replacing one or more existing instances of one computer-generated assetwith one or more instances of another computer-generated asset; changingat least one attribute of at least one instance of the at least onecomputer-generated asset; and re-randomizing the one or more instancesto obtain a distribution of the instances.

In some embodiments, manipulating representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset can includedesignating one or more representations of the one or more instances ofthe at least one computer-generated asset for color-blending, anddetermining representations of post-color-blending instances. In someembodiments, projecting the processed representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset onto theanimation scene can include displaying, based on the representations ofthe post-color-blending instances, the color-blended one or moreinstances. The color-blending can include blending the color of a firstlayer and the color of a second layer of the one or more instances.

In some embodiments, manipulating representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset can includegenerating a representation of an attraction sphere having an attractionradius; and projecting the processed representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset onto theanimation scene can include providing the attraction sphere based on therepresentation of the attraction sphere. The attraction sphere canenable an animation of attracting one or more instances of at least onecomputer-generated asset positioned within a radius of the attractionsphere.

In some embodiments, manipulating representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset can includedesignating one or more representations of the one or more instances ofthe at least one computer-generated asset for combing, and determiningrepresentations of post-combing instances. In some embodiments,projecting the processed representations of the one or more instances ofthe at least one computer-generated asset onto the animation scene caninclude displaying, based on the one or more representations ofpost-combing instances, a variation of the one or more instances towarda pre-determined direction of combing.

In some embodiments, receiving the user input can include receiving auser request to invoke an algorithm-based operation, wherein thealgorithm-based operation is capable of being performed in accordancewith a preconfigured algorithm in absence of a paint stroke.

In some embodiments, processing representations of one or more instancesof the at least one computer-generated asset can include generatingrepresentations of an arbitrary number of instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset; and projecting the processed representationsof the one or more instances of the at least one computer-generatedasset onto the animation scene can include displaying, based on therepresentations of the arbitrary number of instances, the one or moreinstances randomly across a geometry in the animation scene.

In some embodiments, processing representations of one or more instancesof the at least one computer-generated asset can include manipulatingrepresentations of one or more instances using a modification algorithm;and projecting the processed representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset onto theanimation scene can include displaying, based on the manipulatedrepresentations, one or more modified instances. The modificationalgorithm can include at least one of: global scaling of the one or moreinstances, scaling variation for each of the one or more instances,initial orientation of the one or more instances, algorithm-based colorblending of the one or more instances, separating of adjacent instances,and hue-saturation-value (HSV) variation for each of the one or moreinstances.

In some embodiments, processing representations of one or more instancesof the at least one computer-generated asset can include manipulatingrepresentations of one or more instances for culling of the one or moreinstances. The culling is based on at least one of: camera view, slope,position, noise, pattern, textual map, ambient occlusion, andoverlapping. Projecting the processed representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset onto theanimation scene can include segregating the instances (e.g., erasing orremoving instances that are outside of a camera frustum) and/or varyingone or more attributes (e.g., instances “falling off” a underlying rocksurface) of the one or more existing instances based on the cullingoperation.

In some embodiments, receiving the user input can include receiving auser request to directly manipulate the one or more instances of the atleast one computer-generated asset in absence of a paint stroke or analgorithm.

In some embodiments, processing representations of one or more instancesof the at least one computer-generated asset can include generatingprimitive data based on the representations of the one or moreinstances. The primitive data represents geometry of the one or moreinstances. In some embodiments, projecting the processed representationsof the one or more instances of the at least one computer-generatedasset onto the animation scene can include displaying the one or moreinstances using the corresponding primitive data.

In some embodiments, process 1400 can further include receiving,directly from the user, manipulation of the displayed one or moreinstances; and generating representations of the one or more manipulatedinstances.

In some embodiments, receiving the user input can include receiving arequest to animate one or more instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset.

In some embodiments, processing representations of one or more instancesof the at least one computer-generated asset can include associating avariation of attributes with the representations of one or moreinstances; and projecting the processed representations of the one ormore instances of the at least one computer-generated asset onto theanimation scene can include displaying the one or more instances of theat least one computer-generated asset in accordance with the attributevariation.

In some embodiments, receiving the user input can include receiving arequest to partition a plurality of existing instances of the at leastone computer-generated asset.

In some embodiments, determining the type of operation and at least oneattribute can include determining at least one of a type of partitionand one or more attributes associated with the partition based on theuser input. In some embodiments, processing representations of theplurality of existing instances of the at least one computer-generatedasset can include identifying, in accordance with the determination ofat least one of a type of partition and one or more attributesassociated with the partition, representations of a first group of theexisting instances and representations of a second group of the existinginstances. In some embodiments, projecting the processed representationsof the one or more instances of the at least one computer-generatedasset onto the animation scene can include separately displaying, inaccordance with the identification of the respective representations ofthe first group and second group, the first group of existing instancesand the second group of existing instances.

In some embodiments, the type of partition comprises one or more ofpartition-by-asset, partition-by-selection, partition-by-color, orpartition-by-size.

In some embodiments, process 1400 can further include constraining theone or more instances in the animation scene in place with respect to anassociated geometry; and determining whether the geometry associatedwith the one or more constrained instances is modified. In accordancewith the determination that the geometry is modified, process 1400 canfurther include re-projecting, using the metadata, the processedrepresentations of the one or more instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset onto the modified geometry in the animationscene.

In some embodiments, process 1400 can further include obtaining aplurality of polygon models for each of the at least onecomputer-generated asset, wherein the plurality of polygon modelscomprise models having different number of polygons.

In some embodiments, projecting the processed representations of the oneor more instances of the at least one computer-generated asset onto theanimation scene can include projecting the processed representationsusing one or more of the plurality of polygon models.

FIG. 15 depicts components of an exemplary computing system 1500configured to perform any one of the above-described processes. In someembodiments, computing system 1500 is a desktop computer, tabletcomputer, smartphone, server, media player (e.g., DVD player), videogame console, or the like. Computing system 1500 may include, forexample, a processing unit including one or more processors, a memory, astorage, and input/output devices (e.g., monitor, touch screen,keyboard, camera, stylus, drawing device, disk drive, USB, Internetconnection, near-field wireless communication, Bluetooth, etc.).However, computing system 1500 may include circuitry or otherspecialized hardware for carrying out some or all aspects of theprocesses (e.g., process 1400). In some operational settings, computingsystem 1500 may be configured as a system that includes one or moreunits, each of which is configured to carry out some aspects of theprocesses in software, hardware, firmware, or some combination thereof.

In computing system 1500, the main system 1502 may include a motherboard1504 with a bus that connects an input/output (“I/O”) section 1506, oneor more central processing unit (“CPU”) 1508, and a memory section 1510,which may have a flash memory card 1512 related to it. Memory section1510 may contain computer-executable instructions and/or data forcarrying out at least portions of process 1400. The I/O section 1506 isoptionally connected to display 1524, a camera 1526, a keyboard 1514, adisk storage unit 1516, or a media drive unit 1518. The media drive unit1518 can read/write to non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium1520, which can contain programs 1522 and/or data.

At least some values based on the results of the above-describedprocesses can be saved for subsequent use. Additionally, anon-transitory, computer-readable storage medium can be used to store(e.g., tangibly embody) one or more computer programs for performing anyone of the above-described processes by means of a computer. Thecomputer program may be written, for example, in a general-purposeprogramming language (e.g., Pascal, C, C++, Java, or the like) or somespecialized application-specific language.

The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments have been presentedfor purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended tobe exhaustive or to limit the scope of the claims to the precise formsdisclosed, and it should be understood that many modifications andvariations are possible in light of the above teaching.

We claim:
 1. A computer implemented method of composing an animationscene in a computer-generated animation, the method comprising:receiving a user input requesting to perform an operation on at leastone computer-generated asset in the animation scene; determining, basedon the user input, a type of operation and at least one attributeassociated with the at least one computer-generated asset in theanimation scene; in accordance with the determination of the type ofoperation and the at least one attribute: processing representations ofone or more instances of the at least one computer-generated asset;projecting the processed representations of the one or more instances ofthe at least one computer-generated asset onto the animation scene toperform the operation; and generating metadata associated with therepresentations of the one or more instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset, wherein the metadata enables re-projecting ofthe processed representations of the one or more instances of the atleast one computer-generated asset irrespective of the one or moreinstances being constrained in place.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe type of operation comprises one or more of a paint-stroke basedoperation, an algorithm-based operation, a direct manipulatingoperation, an animation operation, and a partitioning operation; andwherein the at least one attribute comprising one or more of position,radius, color, density, opacity, strength, texture, ramp, and linearityassociated with the at least one computer-generated asset in theanimation scene, and a type of partition.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein receiving the user input comprises receiving one or more paintstrokes with respect to the animation scene, the one or more paintstrokes being associated with a radius and indicating a curve extendingacross at least part of the animation scene.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein determining the at least one attribute associated with the atleast one computer-generated asset comprises at least one of: randomlyselecting a computer-generated asset for each instance of the one ormore instances in the animation scene; or selecting a computer-generatedasset for each instance of the one or more instances based on the userinput.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein processing representations ofone or more instances of the at least one computer-generated assetcomprises generating representations of the one or more instances of theat least one computer-generated asset in accordance with the at leastone attribute.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein generatingrepresentations of the one or more instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset comprises generating a plurality ofrepresentations of instances of the at least one computer-generatedasset in accordance with the radius associated with the one or morepaint strokes and in accordance with the curve indicated by the one ormore paint strokes, and wherein projecting the processed representationsof the one or more instances of the at least one computer-generatedasset onto the animation scene comprises displaying, based on theplurality of generated representations, the one or more instances withinthe radius associated with the one or more paint strokes, the one ormore instances being positioned along the curve indicated by the one ormore paint strokes in the animation scene.
 7. The method of claim 5,wherein generating representations of the one or more instances of theat least one computer-generated asset comprises generating an individualrepresentation of an instance for each separate user input, and whereinprojecting the processed representations of the one or more instances ofthe at least one computer-generated asset onto the animation scenecomprises displaying, based on the individual representation of aninstance for each separate user input, one or more instances of the atleast one computer-generated asset in the animation scene.
 8. The methodof claim 5, wherein generating representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset comprisesgenerating, based on a single user input, representations of a group ofinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset, and whereinprojecting the processed representations of the one or more instances ofthe at least one computer-generated asset onto the animation scenecomprises displaying, based on the representations of a group ofinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset, the group ofinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset in the animationscene.
 9. The method of claim 3, wherein processing representations ofone or more instances of the at least one computer-generated assetcomprises manipulating representations of the one or more instances ofthe at least one computer-generated asset in accordance with at leastone attribute.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein manipulatingrepresentations of the one or more instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset comprises at least one of: designatingrepresentations of a percentage of the one or more instances of the atleast one computer-generated asset for manipulating; or designatingrepresentations of one or more pre-determined instances of the at leastone computer-generated asset for manipulating.
 11. The method of claim9, wherein manipulating representations of the one or more instances ofthe at least one computer-generated asset comprises designating, basedon the user input, one or more representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset for erasing; andwherein projecting the processed representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset onto theanimation scene comprises erasing, from displaying, the one or moreinstances associated with the one or more representations designated forerasing.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein manipulating representationsof the one or more instances of the at least one computer-generatedasset comprises: designating one or more representations of the one ormore instances of the at least one computer-generated asset for scaling;and determining representations of post-scaling instances of the atleast one computer-generated asset; and wherein projecting the processedrepresentations of the one or more instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset onto the animation scene comprises displayingscaled one or more instances based on the representations ofpost-scaling instances, wherein the scaling increases or decreasesdimensions of the one or more instances.
 13. The method of claim 9,wherein manipulating representations of the one or more instances of theat least one computer-generated asset comprises: designating one or morerepresentations of the one or more instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset for paint-stroke based modification; anddetermining representations of post-modification instances; and whereinprojecting the processed representations of the one or more instances ofthe at least one computer-generated asset onto the animation scenecomprises performing, based on the representations of thepost-modification instances, at least one of: replacing one or moreexisting instances of one computer-generated asset with one or moreinstances of another computer-generated asset; changing at least oneattribute of at least one instance of the at least onecomputer-generated asset; or re-randomizing the one or more instances toobtain a distribution of the instances.
 14. The method of claim 9,wherein manipulating representations of the one or more instances of theat least one computer-generated asset comprises: designating one or morerepresentations of the one or more instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset for color blending; and determiningrepresentations of post-color-blending instances; and wherein projectingthe processed representations of the one or more instances of the atleast one computer-generated asset onto the animation scene comprisesdisplaying, based on the representations of the post-color-blendinginstances, the color-blended one or more instances, wherein thecolor-blending comprises blending the color of a first layer and thecolor of a second layer of the one or more instances.
 15. The method ofclaim 9, wherein manipulating representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset comprisesgenerating a representation of an attraction sphere having an attractionradius; and wherein projecting the processed representations of the oneor more instances of the at least one computer-generated asset onto theanimation scene comprises providing the attraction sphere based on therepresentation of the attraction sphere, the attraction sphere enablingan animation of attracting one or more instances of at least onecomputer-generated asset positioned within a radius of the attractionsphere.
 16. The method of claim 9, wherein manipulating representationsof the one or more instances of the at least one computer-generatedasset comprises: designating one or more representations of the one ormore instances of the at least one computer-generated asset for combing;and determining representations of post-combing instances; and whereinprojecting the processed representations of the one or more instances ofthe at least one computer-generated asset onto the animation scenecomprises displaying, based on the one or more representations ofpost-combing instances, an orientation variation of the one or moreinstances toward a pre-determined direction of combing.
 17. The methodof claim 1, wherein receiving the user input comprises receiving a userrequest to invoke an algorithm-based operation, wherein thealgorithm-based operation is capable of being performed in accordancewith a preconfigured algorithm in absence of a paint stroke.
 18. Themethod of claim 17, wherein processing representations of one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset comprisesgenerating representations of an arbitrary number of instances of the atleast one computer-generated asset; and wherein projecting the processedrepresentations of the one or more instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset onto the animation scene comprises displaying,based on the representations of the arbitrary number of instances, theone or more instances randomly across a geometry in the animation scene.19. The method of claim 17, wherein processing representations of one ormore instances of the at least one computer-generated asset comprisesmanipulating representations of one or more instances using amodification algorithm; and wherein projecting the processedrepresentations of the one or more instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset onto the animation scene comprises displaying,based on the manipulated representations, one or more modifiedinstances, wherein the modification algorithm comprises at least one of:global scaling of the one or more instances, scaling variation for eachof the one or more instances, initial orientation of the one or moreinstances, algorithm-based color blending of the one or more instances,separating of adjacent instances, and hue-saturation-value (HSV)variation for each of the one or more instances.
 20. The method of claim17, wherein processing representations of one or more instances of theat least one computer-generated asset comprises manipulatingrepresentations of one or more instances for culling of the one or moreinstances, wherein the culling is based on at least one of: camera view,slope, position, noise, pattern, textual map, ambient occlusion, andoverlapping; and wherein projecting the processed representations of theone or more instances of the at least one computer-generated asset ontothe animation scene comprises at least one of segregating the instancesor varying one or more attributes of the one or more existing instancesbased on the culling operation.
 21. The method of claim 1, whereinreceiving the user input comprises receiving a user request to directlymanipulate the geometry of one or more instances visualized in theanimation scene.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein processingrepresentations of one or more instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset comprises generating primitive data based onthe representations of the one or more instances, the primitive datarepresenting geometry of the one or more instances; and whereinprojecting the processed representations of the one or more instances ofthe at least one computer-generated asset onto the animation scenecomprises displaying the geometry of one or more instances using thecorresponding primitive data.
 23. The method of claim 22, furthercomprising: receiving, directly from the user, manipulation of thedisplayed geometry of the one or more instances; and generatingrepresentations of the one or more manipulated geometry of the one ormore instances.
 24. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the userinput comprises receiving a request to animate one or more instances ofthe at least one computer-generated asset.
 25. The method of claim 24,wherein processing representations of one or more instances of the atleast one computer-generated asset comprises associating an attributevariation with the representations of one or more instances; and whereinprojecting the processed representations of the one or more instances ofthe at least one computer-generated asset onto the animation scenecomprises displaying the one or more instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset in accordance with the attribute variation. 26.The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the user input comprisesreceiving a request to partition a plurality of existing instances ofthe at least one computer-generated asset.
 27. The method of claim 26,wherein determining the type of operation and at least one attributecomprises determining at least one of a type of partition and one ormore attributes associated with the partition based on the user input;wherein processing representations of the plurality of existinginstances of the at least one computer-generated asset comprisesidentifying, in accordance with the determination of at least one of atype of partition and one or more attributes associated with thepartition, representations of a first group of the existing instancesand representations of a second group of the existing instances; andwherein projecting the processed representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset onto theanimation scene comprises separately displaying, in accordance with theidentification of the respective representations of the first group andsecond group, the first group of existing instances and the second groupof existing instances.
 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the type ofpartition comprises one or more of partition-by-asset,partition-by-selection, partition-by-color, or partition-by-size. 29.The method of claim 1, further comprising: constraining the one or moreinstances in the animation scene in place with respect to an associatedgeometry; determining whether the geometry associated with the one ormore constrained instances is modified; and in accordance with thedetermination that the geometry is modified, re-projecting, using themetadata, the processed representations of the one or more instances ofthe at least one computer-generated asset onto the modified geometry inthe animation scene.
 30. The method of claim 1, further comprisingobtaining a plurality of polygon models for each of the at least onecomputer-generated asset, wherein the plurality of polygon modelscomprise models having different number of polygons.
 31. The method ofclaim 30, wherein projecting the processed representations of the one ormore instances of the at least one computer-generated asset onto theanimation scene comprises projecting the processed representations usingone or more of the plurality of polygon models.
 32. A system forcomposing an animation scene in a computer-generated animation, thesystem comprising: a processing unit and memory, wherein the processingunit is configured to: receive a user input requesting to perform anoperation on at least one computer-generated asset in the animationscene; determine, based on the user input, a type of operation and atleast one attribute associated with the at least one computer-generatedasset in the animation scene; in accordance with the determination ofthe type of operation and the at least one attribute: processrepresentations of one or more instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset; project the processed representations of theone or more instances of the at least one computer-generated asset ontothe animation scene to perform the operation; and generate metadataassociated with the representations of the one or more instances of theat least one computer-generated asset, wherein the metadata enablesre-projecting of the processed representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset irrespective ofthe one or more instances being constrained in place.
 33. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprisingcomputer-executable instructions for composing an animation scene in acomputer-generated animation, the computer-executable instructionscomprising instructions for: receiving a user input requesting toperform an operation on at least one computer-generated asset in theanimation scene; determining, based on the user input, a type ofoperation and the at least one attribute associated with the at leastone computer-generated asset in the animation scene; in accordance withthe determination of the type of operation and at least one attribute:processing representations of one or more instances of the at least onecomputer-generated asset; projecting the processed representations ofthe one or more instances of the at least one computer-generated assetonto the animation scene to perform the operation; and generatingmetadata associated with the representations of the one or moreinstances of the at least one computer-generated asset, wherein themetadata enables re-projecting of the processed representations of theone or more instances of the at least one computer-generated assetirrespective of the one or more instances being constrained in place.